


Sometimes All You Need Is A Cat

by just_plain_fanfics



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bonding, Bonding Moments, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, he is a man of many talents, lance also knitts, lance sings, no bestiality, someone turns into a cat, the cat thing isn't permanent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-10-31 23:17:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10909488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_plain_fanfics/pseuds/just_plain_fanfics
Summary: Keith is turned into a cat and the team assigns Lance to watch him until he turns back. Bonding ensues.





	Sometimes All You Need Is A Cat

**Author's Note:**

> There are a few links in this- just things like examples for parts in the fic

Keith had been turned into a cat. None of the paladins were entirely sure what happened, only that there was a blinding flash and then a small black cat was untangling itself from Keith’s jacket on the ground. It stumbled around for a moment, before regaining it’s balance and yowling. Loudly. Since there wasn’t much else they could do, Lance just scooped him up and they brought him with them. He totally picked Keith up to rub it in his face later, not because he wanted to, or anything. The dark fur was soft against his fingers and Lance fought back the urge to stop and cuddle the cat right there. 

Back at the castle Allura and Coran ran some tests, and it seemed that it was a temporary spell from the ancient civilization of the planet Mura. From what they knew it only lasted about a week, and turned the recipient into an animal. So they just had to wait a week. 

The other paladins weren’t really sure what to make of it, they each had their own thoughts. Pidge wanted to experiment with the cat that is Keith, and Shiro had to distract her with the promise of a new gadget before she could get any ideas. Hunk wanted to make some food for Keith, immediately running off to the kitchen to try out some new recipes. Shiro was almost panicking, rushing about to make sure that he really was going to be okay. Allura pulled him off to the side to calm him down, explaining the diagnostics to him. So that left Lance. Lance, who was trying really hard not to squeal with how cute Keith was. Instead of looking intimidating, his usual scowl just got lost in the fur, making him look adorable. Lance decides he’s going to knit Keith a sweater later. 

The first mistake made by the paladins was leaving Keith alone. Obviously Keith would run off and hide, he did it as a human so being a cat just made it more likely. Lance frowns to himself, he should have seen this coming. Everyone quickly discusses what their course of action should be, and they end up splitting off into groups. This leaves Lance alone, walking down the corridor looking for a sign of the small feline. He begins to grumble to himself when he sees a dark shape in a corner move slightly. He stops abruptly, then back up slowly obscuring himself from Keith’s line of sight. Lance presses against the wall, sliding closer. What does he do next? He didn’t think that far ahead, so what is he supposed to do? Just reach and grab him- wait. If he sneaks up on Keith, what are the chances he’ll be attacked? He stops for a moment, trying to think of a better way to go about this, one that doesn’t result in pain for him. Eventually, he decides a nicer approach. 

“Hey, Keithy-cat? ’S that you?” Lance coos, stepping away from the shadows and peering into the crevasse. He sees movement, what looks like the flick of an ear. Annoyance? Most likely. 

“Hey, hey. Don’t be upset, I’m just here to get you. Why don’t you come here?” Lance’s voice is softening. He continued to coax Keith out, his voice slipping into the smooth sweet tone usually reserved for his siblings. 

“That’s right. I’m here to take you someplace nicer. Come here.” He makes a beckoning motion with his had, reaching out towards the mass of ebony fur. Keith slowly unfurls himself from the ball he had been tucked into, and cautiously pads closer to Lance. He comes to a stop in front of Lance’s stretched out arm, leaning into it to give it a sniff. Lance’s free hand went to cover his face, because how was a cat able to be so cute? Regaining what composure he can, Lance slides his hand closer to Keith, and when he doesn’t react, picks up the cat with a gently swooping motion. He holds Keith-the-cat close to him, relishing in the heat of the fuzzy body pressed against him. Standing up, Lance makes his way slowly back to the control room. 

Soon the others return, and they address the next problem. Where was Keith to sleep, and who’s responsibility would he be? 

“Pidge is a no.” Shiro says, before anyone else can say anything. Pidge starts to complain, but is cut off by Shiro starting to talk again. “Keith it off-limits for experimentation. If you touch him I will revoke your use of power tools.” Pidge goes quiet, and the others stand around waiting for Shiro to continue. When he doesn’t Hunk pipes up.

“I wouldn’t mind looking after him!” Shiro smiles warmly at Hunk, but shakes his head.

“We’re already asking you to find food suitable for him, I won’t make you do anything else. We’ll find someone else.” He looks around the room, eyes travelling from one person to the next. 

“I’m not going to bother Allura or Coran with Keith’s care, I doubt either of them know anything about cats anyways. I would take him, but I actually don’t know much about them either. Lance, you mentioned you once had a cat, yes?” Lance swallows, he almost regrets telling the team about that now. He nods absently, lost in thoughts of the little white kitten that had shown up on his doorstep one day. 

His mother was kind enough to let him keep it, and Lance had treasured it. He absolutely fawned over the tiny thing, doing everything he could to keep it happy. He was rarely seen apart from it. Unfortunately, there was one day where young Lance forgot to close the door completely on his way in, and when no one was looking the pale cat had left without a trace. Lance still gets sad thinking about it, so he turns back to what Shiro has started to say.

“Lance, you wouldn’t mind keeping care of him would you? You have the most experience, and I think it could be a good bonding exercise.”

“B-but! What if I do something wrong! And it’s not a bonding exercise! We don’t even know if he can tell what we’re saying, or even if he’ll remember this!” 

“Calm down, you’ll do fine. Just look at him now, he seems to like you just fine!” Shiro gestures towards the cat curled up in Lance’s arms, resting comfortably in the sturdy space. Lance looks down and blushes, he had almost forgotten about the added weight in his arms. Pidge wolf whistles, then says something under their breath, causing Hunk to giggle. Lance shoots them both a glare. 

“Okay, I’ll do it. But only because you need me to!” Shiro smiles and chuckles, nodding at Lance.

“If you need anything let me know. If not, then, goodnight.” 

“Alright, see you guys in the morning.” Lance turns and head off towards his bedroom, a nervous fluttering in his stomach.

Why was he nervous? His whole mind was screaming at him the Keith was going to stay in his room, but he pushed those thoughts away, trying to convince himself that he was only nervous about the cat-sitting part. When he got to his room he closed the door and made sure it was locked, before letting Keith down to roam free. Lance then started to strip off his clothes, almost forgetting his guest until the frantic patter of feet to his attached washroom reminded him. He hadn’t taken off his bottoms just yet, but he felt his face heat up nonetheless. Looking to make sure the cat was gone, he quickly finished changing and pulled out his yarn.

He had got the yarn on a trading planet, Coran had helped him bargain for it. There was blue and red yarn, completely accidental, Lance says, so he gets his needles and starts. Not long after he’s started and Keith is back, pawing playfully at the blue ball of yarn. He bats it back and forth as Lance watches, amused by the playful behavior of his friend-turned-cat. He picks up his needles again and resumes gracefully looping the yarn over them, pulling it taught then starting the process over again. Many people have told Lance how good he is at it, how he makes it seem like an art. Of course, he’s had his share of teasing about it, but the compliments from his close friends and family have always outweighed the hate. Even Keith seems mesmerized by the fluid motions, he’s stopped swiping at the wool to sit back and watch Lance. Lance in turn flushes a bit, suddenly embarrassed under the intense stare of the cat. Lance finds himself once again wondering if Keith will remember this, or if the two of them will go back to how it was before. A big part of him doesn’t want to. Even thought Keith can’t talk, it does feel like they’re getting more comfortable with each other. Lance snaps out of his thought to carefully tie off the end of the yarn, picking up the blue next, and skillfully attaching it. 

An hour later and Lance has just about finished, a small sweater not taking him very long. He cuts off any loose threads then turns to the small creature beside him. He jumps a bit in surprise when he sees Keith sleeping there contentedly, his tiny chest rising and falling with every breath. Not wanting to wake the sleepy kitten, Lance sets the sweater aside and crawls into bed next to Keith. Far enough away he doesn’t wake him, but close enough to hear the soft snores escaping the cats mouth. Lance is shocked to feel a grin plastered on his face, but he chooses to ignore it, settling into the comfort of mattress. 

In the morning, Lance wakes up to find Keith awake and pacing the room. Usual Keith behaviour, he guesses, until he sees the desperate look on the cats face. Oh. Lance sits up, pulling on slippers and a robe, and scooping Keith up in his arms.

“Alright, let’s get you to the washroom.” Hunk has put together a makeshift litter box for Keith, so Lance quickly carried the struggling cat into his bathroom. He sets down Keith then backs away, turning to face the wall. While Keith might be a cat, he still deserves his privacy. When he’s finished Lance grabs the sweater from last night and picks up Keith. 

“Hey now, don’t struggle. I’m not going to hurt you.” Lance strokes the silky on Keith’s back to calm him down, carefully slipping the garment over Keith’s head. It fit perfectly, and Lance had to admit he had done a good job. Keith looked adorable, so adorable that Lance couldn’t help but squeeze Keith to his chest in a hug. God, he hopes Keith doesn’t remember this. 

Soon, Lance joins the rest of the team down in the kitchen, and begrudgingly hands Keith off to Hunk so he can get some food. 

“Oh my god Lance, you knit him a sweater?” Lance flushes, he had forgotten about that. He turns his head to the ground, trying to come up with a reply.

“Well, he looked cold…. and I had some left over yarn! It just made sense!” He can see Hunk raise his eyebrows at him from the corner of his eye, but Lance chooses to ignore it when the other doesn’t press. He scowls at the ground. He only wanted to make it because it was kinda cute right? He wouldn’t tell the others that, but he had always been a fan of knitting things for small critters. Now that it was Keith he only wanted to make even more. For teasing purposes of course. 

“Paladins!” Allura’s voice fills the room as she walks in, addressing the small crowd gathered there. “I have some news.”

“Yes?” Shiro cocks his head in confusion, his attention immediately captured by the beautiful space princess. 

“We are going on a diplomatic mission later today. I’m sorry to spring it on you, but we just received a request for an alliance. From what we’ve been told, it will be a meal and toast to our newfound allies. Please make sure you are appropriately dressed.” Lance is surprised, but a bit thankful to miss the training today. His mind automatically goes to Keith -just because he’s a cat- and he wonders what they’ll do with Keith. As if he’s heard Lance’s thoughts, Shiro voices his concerns. 

“What about Keith?” 

“We have informed them that he is busy and unable to come. We have also told them that we will be bringing an animal.” Coran states, appearing silently behind Allura. “Hunk, will you be okay to hold onto Keith during that time? He can just sit by your chair.” As much as Lance is dismayed by the suggestion he stays silent when Hunk accepts the job. The rest of the paladins split off to their rooms to find some nice clothes to wear. 

The planet the team is visiting is small but pleasant. If it weren’t for the strange ecosystem it would be very similar to Earth. Huge pale sunset orange trees tower over Lance, their flat leaves spreading out and almost entirely blocking out the sky. Besides the trees, if you can call them that, there’s barely any other plant life. Still, the warm climate and slight breeze send Lance reeling into a fit of nostalgia. The weather is identical to on Earth when he would play outside with his many siblings. Lance would pick up the younger ones, letting them hang off his arms while he carried them off, their elated shrieks ringing in his ears. Suddenly something warm and dry is pushing against his arm, and Lance opens the eyes he didn’t realize he’d closed to find Keith nosing his arm in worry. He smiles, the thought of Keith being concerned for him pushing away the loneliness he’d just been feeling. He picks up his pace a bit to catch up with the others. Soon the first few aliens come into sight. They looks a bit like axolotl, a type of Mexican salamander, but with long whiskers. They were also stood on their hind legs, waiting in front of an archway.

“Oh! Is this the creature you spoke of?” One of the two beings asked, voice filled with curiosity. Allura confirmed that this was the animal guest coming. “And what would be the name of this beautiful thing?” Everyone froze, they hadn’t thought that their hosts would ask for a name. Lance panics, and says the first name to come to his mind, which happens to be be the name his younger sister gave the family fish.

“P-princess! That’s the name! Y-yeah, Princess.” If Keith wasn’t already upset by all the attention, the name only made him more angry. Lance could feel claws digging against his skin through his jacket sleeve. The others just look amused, and Lance suddenly regrets his decision. The aliens don’t seem to notice anything however, so they make their way to the dining hall.

The food is different, but not bad. There are mostly root vegetables, Lance notices, except the few dishes of miscellaneous colourful spheres and something mashed. Despite the odd appearance it smells good, and Lance can feel his stomach twist in hunger. They tuck in, and Lance zones out as Allura and the head alien exchange speeches.

“-And we will not stop fighting until we liberate all of the enslaved planets!” Lance perks up, hopeful that the speaking is done so he can finally eat.

Unfortunately, not ten minutes in and Keith starts to yowl. No one predicted this, so they weren’t sure what to do.

“Oh my! Is that creature not well?” One of the aliens asks, glancing nervously at Keith. “Is it not satisfied with this arrangement?”

“Of course not! The arrangement is fine! I’m actually not entirely sure what’s made hi-her so unhappy.” Allura responds, sharing a concerned glance with Shiro. Hunk looks devastated, he must think it’s his fault, so Lance acts before he thinks, once again. He stands up, and making his way to Hunk’s seat at the table he stoops lower, bringing his face closer to the ground.

“Hey Ke-Princess. It’s okay. Why don’t you come over here?” Lance reaches out his hand like he did the first night. Keith immediately stops making any sound, and cocks his head to the side a bit.

“That’s right, come here.” Lance’s voice melts into a hushed tone again, and Keith slowly creeps closer until he’s reached Lance’s arm. “That’s a good kitty, come to Lance. I’ve got you. Here, Princess.” Keith hops into Lance’s outstretched arms, and Lance stands back up, carrying Keith back to his seat.

“It seems the blue paladin has calmed the creature?” An alien questions.

“Well, thank you Lance. We’re sorry to have interrupted dinner.”

“You needn’t worry! We are delighted to have you and your special creature here!” After this, everyone seems to lapse into a silence, not uncomfortable, everyone focused on their meal. Lance dishes himself some more of the spherical things, he doesn’t know what they are, but they taste much better than Coran’s space goo. He scoops some onto his spoon, then discreetly slips it below the table, giving Keith something to eat as well. Dinner goes on like this, Lance feeding Keith table scraps whenever no one was looking, and playing innocent when someone looked his way. He felt Keith greedily butt his head against Lance’s arm a few times when he stopped receiving food for a moment. The silliness of it made Lance blush and grin, trying hard to keep a blank face. Keith-the-cat was so much cuter than normal Keith. The end came too soon, and the team said their thanks and took their leave.

A few days pass, and the paladins get another rest day. It’s impossible to do team bonding exercises while Keith is a cat, and strenuous training only tires out the team. Allura suggests then that they take a break, take a day just to relax. Lance goes back to his room, settling down on his bed, ready to take a nap. He’s used to the little ball of warmth that shares his bed now, he just slides in beside Keith, leaving a loving pat on his head, and mumbles a ‘goodnight princess’ before he drifts into a restless sleep. He won’t tell anyone but he still has nightmares sometimes. They stopped for a while when Keith turned into a cat and started sleeping with him, but they still come. Like now, for instance.

-Lance’s breath gets ragged, his skin is slick with a layer of sweat. A dream of his home plagues him, it shows him what he’s left his family with. Today it starts out with a scene of a beach. His older brother is there, smiling at him. The smile is soon replaced with a disapproving frown as the image of his brother begins to speak.

“That’s no good, Lance. Don’t you know what you’ve done to mamá?” Lance sucks in a breath, trying to remain calm.

“Please Alex, it’s not my fault. I had to.” His voice quivers. His older brother slets out a huff of breath sadly.

“You had to what? Abandon your mamá? Even after papá left? You are an awful excuse for a son.” Lance sobs, his body convulsing with shudders.-

A familiar rough nose pushes into Lance’s bare chest, effectively waking him. He starts upright, chest still heaving. It takes a moment for his breathing to go back to normal, and he sits there, shaking and dripping in cold sweat. Keith pushes himself into Lance’s arms, rubbing against his stomach. Lance sighs, and tucks his legs in so he’s sitting with crossed legs. He shifts his arms so he can hold Keith more comfortably. 

“Sorry for waking you, princess.” 

Keith’s pointed ears shift from back to sideways, trying to figure out what he should be feeling. In effort to calm him, Lance begins to hum. The same velvety ears flick straight up, turning his full attention to the low sound coming from Lance. It’s an old song he learned as a kid, his abuela had taught it to him when he was young and it stuck with him all these years. Keith’s tense muscles soon relax, and Lance slowly starts singing the lyrics. He hasn’t sung this song for many years, and the memories of teaching his young siblings the words come back to him. A rumbling noise sounds from Keith, and Lance smiles into the words. He doesn’t notice the tears streaming down his face, not until Keith is clumsily clambering up his arm to his shoulder and licking them off. The scratchy cat tongue lapping at his face made him giggle, momentarily forgetting about his troubles. Lance falls back asleep to Keith’s soft purring. 

Lance wakes up later, and disgusted by how sweaty he is, he decides to take a shower. He steps into the washroom not bothering to close the door, and strips of the boxers he had on. He quickly turns on the water, trying to dodge the cold spray while the water heats up. Once the water comes to a comfortable warmth, Lance starts to think. Of course, his thoughts travel to Keith. How many days has it been with Keith as a cat? Three? Four?  
Lance can’t remember, but he knows Keith’s time as a cat is running out. What will he do when Keith turns back? How does that even work? Lance is so lost in his thoughts he doesn’t notice the black feline darting through the doorway. Keith stalks over to the shower and hops up onto the toilet seat. From there he jump a onto the ledge of the bath tub, where he’s close enough to swipe at the drops of water falling from the tap. Lance only notices him now, looking down just in time to see the tiny cat loose his balance and fall into the tub. Keith skids down the edges into the bottom, and Lance stands there in shock for a moment. He’s blushing madly as he quickly picks the drenched cat up and drops him outside the shower. The all to familiar thoughts return; did Keith see him? Will Keith remember this? Lance hopes not, he wants to die of embarrassment. Why did Keith come in the bathroom anyways? Was it just a cat thing? Or something more? Lance tries to focus more on washing his hair than deducing the reasoning behind Keith’s unexpected appearance.

 

The time flies by, and soon enough it’s the sixth night of Keith being a cat. Everyone on the ship was used to it by now, the small black presence a part of their routine. Lance has gotten used to sleeping with him too, the extra warmth a welcome feeling. Tonight Keith is sleeping Lance as normal, curled up in his arms, small back pressing against Lance’s broad chest. Lance is glad Keith seems to be sleeping peacefully, he had seemed tired earlier.

“Sweet dreams, Princess.” He whispers, smiling fondly and snuggling closer to Keith.

Lance drifts into a peaceful sleep, arms still curled vigilantly around the barely moving creature, as if he was afraid to let go, to lose him.

Soft. That’s the first thought Lance has when he wakes up. Not soft in a fluffy way, but a smooth way. There’s something fluffy as well, but the silken feeling is what draws him in. It feels just like skin, and the downy part like hair? Lance runs his hand through the cottony object and along the cool surface, his eyes still closed. He feels the sleek exterior shudder, and he snaps out of whatever trance he had been in. His eyes fly open, and he blinks rapidly to get the sleep out of his eyes. Keith is there, but not as a cat- as a human. Keith stares back up at him, and Lance notices how unusually long his eye lashes are. He wills himself to focus, because Keith is here, in his bed. But that’s exactly the reason he can’t. Lance blushes, and scoots back a little to give Keith some room. That’s when he sees the ripped sweater laying on the bed next to a completely naked Keith. He gets even redder, his face on fire as he tears his eyes away from Keith’s toned torso. Keith turns scarlet too, and he quickly grabs the sweater scraps, and practically jumping out of bed he stutters out an apology.

“Oh god, I’m sorry. I-I’ll just, I’ll just leave.” Keith bolts out the door, stark naked. If Lance wasn’t so disappointed with the sudden departure he would have laughed. He slips out of bed and pulls on some clothes. Rushing downstairs, he wonders why Keith took the scraps of sweater with him. There was no use for them, they weren’t big enough to salvage, Keith must have ripped it when he changed back. Speaking of which, how did that even work? He wishes he could have been awake to see it, he’s curious as to how it works.

He arrives in the common room where everyone else is up. Keith is there, this time fully clothed. Lance tries to catch his eye, but to no avail. Keith ignores him, pretending to be absorbed in the conversation between Coran and Allura. The others seem to notice his entrance, and Shiro turns towards him to fill him in.

“Oh, hey Lance. We were just about to runs some test on Keith to do a check up. Make sure there’s no damage.” Lance glances back at Keith, who has just turned to follow Coran out of the room.

“Cool. S'there anything I can do to help?”

“Nope! You’ve done a lot, thanks for your help.” The praise from Shiro fills Lance with a sense of pride. Being the leader and father figure of the group, it meant a lot. It was almost enough to distract from the hurt he felt at being ignored by Keith. Almost.

“Good news! It seems that there is no damage to Keith’s body!” Coran announces, a satisfied smile on his face.

“Alright! How do you feel, Keith? Do you remember what happened?” Hunk asks, still slightly concerned.

“M'okay. And, uh, no. I remember a flash, and that’s it. But, uh, Allura told me I was turned into a cat.” Lance’s heart sinks, a pit of dismay heavy in his stomach. So he didn’t remember. That’s fine. They- they could just continue on as they were before, right? Lance is filled with a feeling of regret, the longing to spend more time with Keith eating away at him. He squashes the feelings down, ignoring the painful thudding of his heart, the sound of it hammering in his ears. He takes a breath, blinks a few times to clear his mind and turns his attention to Allura.

“Okay, paladins. Since Keith has just recovered we will use this day for resting, and get back into training tomorrow. ” Lance has never been so happy to hear those words. He’s out the door before he hears Pidge ask about Keith’s memory loss. He all but runs there, only stopping when the door is closed and locked behind him.

Why does he care so much about Keith all of the sudden? As a cat, it makes sense, but why does Keith-the-human matter? It was nice spending time with Keith-the-cat, but mainly because they couldn’t argue. Lance has to admit arguing with Keith isn’t bad either, it’s he only way he and Keith talk anyways. He cringes, suddenly wishing he had been a bit nicer in the past. He stops pacing- he hadn’t realized he’d been doing it in the first place- and sits on the edge of his bed. His leg bounces nervously while his thoughts eat up the rest of the day.

 

During the next week Lance is uncharacteristically quiet. He still joins in with the friendly banter at meals, but the team can tell he’s avoiding someone. And he is. He’s been ignoring Keith for the past week, not out of spite, but purely out of the fear of talking to him. He doesn’t strike up arguments with him anymore, simply just letting him be. The others try to get him to talk to them, but he brushes them off, blaming it on fatigue. Pidge asks him multiple times if he’d like to join them in their experiments. Hunk’s become incredibly more anxious, cooking more often than ever, and checking in on Lance every chance he gets. Lance just ignores the almost identical glances of concern sent his way from Allura and Shiro. He hides out in his room a lot more, whenever he wasn’t training. When training ends he’s the first to rush off, not bothering to stick around. If Lance was actually paying attention, he would be able to see that Keith has been restless too, spending all of his time training without stop.

Lance is wandering through the corridors when Keith ambushes him. Too busy with his thoughts, Lance doesn’t see it as Keith comes up behind him, and puts a hand on his shoulder. Lance jumps, clutching at his chest, above where his heart would be.

“¡Jesús! God, Keith, you scared me!” He then realizes that it is, in fact Keith, and backtracks, trying to find an excuse to leave.

“Hey, you’re not doing anything now, are you?” Lance blanches, this going the exact opposite of how he wanted it to go.

“Er, well, I mean, not really?” He gives up, there’s no way he can find a good excuse. He silently wills someone to come asking for him, or even a Galra attack. He would even be willing to help Pidge out with their projects. No such luck.

“Ah, okay! Can we, uh, talk?” Lance begins to feel a bit nauseous, panic rising along with the bile in his throat. He swallows, shifting his weight to sturdy himself before responding.

“Sure? Talk away.” Lance replies, hoping that he can at least make it quick. Keith doesn’t seem to be on the same wavelength.

“Uh, like in private maybe? It’s okay if you say no.” Lance is startled by the slightly timid look on Keith’s face. He ends up agreeing before actually thinking it over.

“I guess? My room?” Keith just nods, following Lance as he turn back in the direction of his quarters.

The get to the door and Lance just motions for Keith to enter. The sit down on the bed, the air thick with tension.

“So, uh, there was something you wanted to talk about?” Lance prompts, anxiety welling up inside him as Keith visibly swallows. Lance mimics the movement, trying to swallow down the lump in his throat. Lance sees Keith squeeze his eyes shut for a moment, just long enough to get out an apology.

“I’m sorry!” This catches Lance completely off guard, he never in a million years thought that Keith would apologize, especially not to him.

“Huh? What?” Keith huffs, and turning to look at the floor he mumbles a reply.

“I said, I’m sorry.” Lance scrunches his eyebrows together, he would be annoyed at the other boy’s rude reply, if what he was saying was less strange.

“I know, but why?” Lance asks again, looking at Keith. Keith keeps his eyes glued to the floor, obscuring his face from Lance’s view.

“The sweater.” When he glances up to see Lance’s lost look, Keith continues. “I ripped it, the sweater.” He looks sad, like a kicked puppy, and Lance has the oddest desire to squish his face. No, he tells himself, he isn’t a cat anymore. It takes a moment for Keith’s words to register.

“What? That wasn’t your fault! Dude don’t worry about it!” He rushes to reassure Keith, holding his hands up to show it wasn’t a big deal.

“But-but you spent time on it. And-and I liked it.” He says the second part in a whisper, but Lance hears it all the same. He blushes, the indirect compliment leaving him flustered.

“It’s not that hard to make! I can even make you a new one!” Keith’s eyes go wide at that- and Lance realizes what this is. He hasn’t had a real crush since before the garrison, but he’s pretty sure that’s what this is. Keith looks amazed, eyes bright and shining at Lance’s suggestion.

“Really?” Lance’s heart melts, and he throws caution to the wind. He’s going to knit this boy a sweater.

“Sure! What colour do you want it?”

“Uh, I don’t mind either way. I liked the design of the other one, though.” Lance smiles, picking up his needles. They sit there, silent except for the clicking of Lance’s knitting needles. It’s peaceful, Lance quietly humming to himself, Keith sprawled out on the bed beside him. Lance holds up the sweater when it’s about halfway done.

“Hey, Keith. Sit up for a sec.” Keith complies, pushing himself up with a grunt. Lance holds the beginning of the sweater up to Keith’s torso, checking the fit.

“Perfect!” Lance beams, proud of himself for correctly guessing the size that fits Keith. Lance can barely see it out of the corner of his eye, but the blush on Keith’s cheeks is evident. Keith coughs and turns his head away, effectively hiding his face from Lance’s view.

“Thanks… for doing this.” Keith manages to get out, looking strained the entire time.

“What’s this? Keith being nice? Unheard of.” When he gets an annoyed huff from Keith he continues to wave off the thanks. “Don’t worry about it, Prince- uh, Keith. I actually like doing this.”

Lance’s face heats up, and tries to cover up his mistake, busying himself in his knitting. His needles move at a much faster pace, and make loud clattering noises every time they collide. He can feel Keith’s inquisitive gaze on his back, and he sweats nervously. Keeping his eyes trained on the fuzzy blue wool, he continues knitting, ignoring distracting presence behind him.

“I lied.” This catches Lance’s attention. It’s said quietly, but Lance hears, and he turns to Keith with a hopeful expression.

“Huh?” Keith clears his throat with a cough, looking extremely uncomfortable.

“I lied. About not remembering.” Lance’s eyes are blown wide at the statement, his eyebrows raised in expectancy.

“So…” He prompts, unsure of what Keith’s words mean.

“So.” Keith’s eyes travel the room restlessly, his fingers tapping with impatience. He reaches a hand up and runs it through his hair, unknowingly making Lance get redder and sweat even more. He tucks a few loose strands of hair behind his ear and sighs, finally brave enough to look at Lance. Lance is flustered and his cheeks are a nice cherry colour. Keith cheeks seem to take on a pinkish tint as well, while he waits for Lance to say something.

“Why did you lie?” Lance looks hurt, his eyes downcast and eyebrows quirked in an upset way.

“I-I’m sorry. I don’t really know, I just….” Keith takes a breath, readying himself and starting again. “I didn’t mean to upset you, but I was embarrassed. I got turned into a cat for fuck’s sake.”

The latter part made Keith sound so distraught, Lance couldn’t help but giggle. Keith looks up at Lance in confusion, cheeks turning scarlet at the boy’s amused face.

“But you were a cute cat.” Just when Keith thought his face couldn’t get any hotter, Lance’s simple comment set it on fire once again. He splutters, unable to respond. He sees Lance’s shit-eating grin and frowns.

“You suck at naming.” Keith pouts, narrowing his eyes at Lance. Lance gasps, a hand flying to his chest in an act of hurt.

“How dare! I’ll have you know I am the best at naming!”

“Oh yeah? Princess? Really?” Lance gapes and Keith snickers.

“That was one name! I had to come up with something on the spot!”

“Oh suuuuure.” Lance glowered at Keith’s unbelieving tone.

“Don’t pretend like you didn’t like it.” He sniffs, turning his nose up and sneaking a peek at Keith, whose cheeks were slowly heating up again. Seeing how Keith was incapable of replying, Lance took the chance to tease him some more.

“Aww, is Princess embarrassed? Hmmm?” Suddenly Keith whirled around, standing up.

“Shut up, Lance! Maybe some people don’t like their feelings played with! Fuck off and find some dumb girl to flirt with instead!"Lance would be lying if he said Keith’s outburst didn’t hurt him.

The words cut deep, was a flirt the only way Keith saw him? He felt his fingers twitch, itching for something to occupy them. He hadn’t realized he had set the needles down, but he picked them up again now, knitting at twice the pace as before. He knows he should go after Keith, but he can’t bring himself to move. Did Keith really only think he was teasing him? He wants to tell Keith, to run after him and beg him to listen, but something hold him back. It keeps him from running off, instead he sits at the edge of his mattress, tears threatening to spill over his long lashes. The first drops of salty liquid fall over his cheeks, leaving a wet trail on the tanned skin he spends so much time on. He lets them fall, watching as the yarn soaks up the droplets. He wipes at his face, vision blurry with the build up of tears in his eyes. He squeezes his eyes shut, sniffing. Clearing his vision by blinking, he refocuses on the nearly done pullover.

 

A few hours later, Lance finds himself with a finished sweater, eyes red from crying, and a painful ache in his heart. He knows he should go find Keith. He knows it. So he does. He walks down the hall, stopping outside Keith’s room. He knocks, but gets no reply. Knowing Keith, if he was in there he would have yelled back a response. So Lance goes to the only other place Keith would be. The training deck.

Lance knows it’s Keith in there before the back of his dark mullet gives him away. The sound of metal on metal of clashing blades and heavy breathing fills Lance’s ears. He hovers at the door before entering, afraid of what awaits. He steps into the room quietly, before ordering off the training drill.

"En-end training sequence!” He hadn’t meant to stutter, so he stands taller, trying to hide his nervousness.

Keith stands there after the training dummy dropped into a hole that appeared in the floor, looking annoyed.

“Lance. Go away.” His voice seems calm, but Lance can feel his annoyance radiating off of him like heat from the sun.

“Please. I need to talk to you.” Lance let his voice go soft with desperation, looking at Keith, who turned his head away in disgust.

“Is this another one of your shameless flirting tactics?” Keith spits back. Lance is shaking, knuckles gone white with lack of circulation from clenching them into fists. He can feel tears surging behind his eyes, so he blinks them back, he won’t let Keith see him cry. He tries to keep calm, he really does, but he can’t. He feels his emotions rip free of him, and he’s suddenly rushing across the gym floor. His hands grip Keith’s shirt, and he feels the release of breath as he slams him against the wall.

“IS THAT ALL YOU THINK OF ME? A GODDAMN FLIRT? I HAVE FEELINGS TOO YOU KNOW! I have feelings too….” His voice dies out, breaking at the end. Lance can’t bring himself to look up, to see Keith looking down at him, so he stays, bent over, sobbing into his fists, still clutching Keith’s shirt.

“I’m sorry.” Lance is taken aback. He hadn’t expected Keith to apologize. He lifts his head slowly, cautiously, still unsure if Keith is serious.

“I-I just. I always see you flirting with those girls, and I thought you- I thought you were joking around with me.”

“Keith? What-” Lance’s fury melts away to confusion, he squints at Keith, narrowing his bright blue eyes.

“I was jealous okay?!” As soon as the words leave his mouth, Keith slaps a hand over his face. Lance tenses, then relaxes again. He lifts his head up fully to look Keith in the eyes.

“I meant it. The flirting, that is.” It’s a good look for Keith, Lance thinks, amethyst eyes wide with excitement and surprise. He feels his confidence rise a bit, so he hurries on to apologize.

“I probably shouldn’t have teased you that much in the first place. I’m sorry. But I really do like you!” He hadn’t meant to phrase it like that. The echo of his words bounce around the open room. He suddenly feels out in the open, vulnerable. Lance feels the sharp intake of breath from Keith, the way he tenses up. He sees his face, sees it soften with something like admiration? The feel of warm breath gracing his neck as Keith sighs. That’s how close they are.

“Y'know? I really do like you too.” Lance gasps softly. Keith reaches up and cups Lance’s caramel coloured cheek, hesitating there as if waiting for permission. Lance finds himself leaning, and the two meet in the middle, locking lips. Lance melts into the kiss, letting Keith’s hands roam his chest. They find his hips, pull him closer.

After a few moments they pull back, giving Keith the chance to come off the wall, reminding Lance of how he pushed him.

“I’m sorry for earlier. Is your back okay?” Keith’s eyebrows shoot up in confusion.

“Huh? Oh, you mean from that. Yeah, it’s fine, you don’t have to apologize.” Keith smile, honest to god smiles, and Lance thinks he’’s going to die. Instead, he plants a soft kiss on Keith’s lips.

“Hey, I finished your sweater!” Lance walks over to where he unconsciously dropped the knitted piece of clothing. He picks it up, and after brushing off any dust he holds it up.

“Ta-da!” Keith smile again, even wider, as he walks over to where Lance stands. He strips off his jacket, and takes the pullover from Lance. Keith pulls it on over his black shirt, and Lance shamelessly stares as it rides up over his hips. Keith huffs a small laugh as he pops his head through the neck hole, pulling it down fully. He looks down at it, beaming. The he frowns. Lance immediately worries if he’s done something wrong.

“What’s wrong? You don’t like it?” He tries to keep his voice from breaking, but the dramatically high pitch change made it hard.

“No! Not that! It’s just, you’ve already made me something, but I haven’t got you anything. I’m a bad boyfriend.” Keith looks absolutely crushed. Lance rushes forwards, pulling Keith into a hug.

“Don’t say that. You don’t need to get me anything. You’re already the best boyfriend.” Lance grins, and Keith smiles back.

**Author's Note:**

> Bonus: Lance coming to Keith the next day with attachable cat ears and getting a glare in return. Lmao, good try Lance. Thanks for reading, especially since this one is so long!
> 
> the cat: http://www.hernehill.org.uk/sites/default/files/1540/IMG_3999.JPG  
> the sweater: https://img0.etsystatic.com/165/1/10521885/il_340x270.1100125728_e47m.jpg  
> the aliens: http://www.axolotl.org/images/animals/axolotl.jpg


End file.
